Apple Pie
by InevitableConfusion
Summary: After making a dire mistake regarding a certain mechanic, can Edward find a way to make it up to her? /"I really screwed up this time, huh?" "Yes, you did."/ EdWin. Moderate OOCness. Rated T because Ed says so.


ALRIGHTY~ HELLO, ALL!

So, I read the finale of FMA, and that put me in the mood to write an EdWin story.

And then I got sick, so that dragged me out of the mood.

BUT! I had this idea stuck in my head and I went "What the heck" and made myself sit down and write it. But remember, I'm in a funk. So, um, sorry if it's kinda suckish.

**Note:** Sorry, most of the first half of this story is background info, but don't worry, it does pick up. (If you've read my other stories, you know what I'm talking about)

**Disclaimer:** InevitableConfusion does NOT own FMA. Which makes her sad. =(

**Rated T** for swearing. And Ed's sexiness. Just 'cause.

* * *

Winry was covered in flour. Ed was shirtless and sweating.

And they just stood there, staring at each other.

…

…

"Huh?"

Ed sighed. "I asked you what you're baking."

"Oh," she said, slightly embarrassed but still too entranced to look away. She was having enough trouble focusing on his face rather than his bare, well-toned chest, gleaming in the…_No! No, bad Winry!_

"Smells good. Is it apple pie?"

Winry turned back to her baking and nodded, opting for a noise of confirmation rather than a direct answer, lest her voice betray her.

It was silent for a moment as she began to work again, her back to him. But he had yet to move, and she could _feel_ his piercing golden eyes on her, watching every motion she made. Her heart rate sped up a bit.

Footsteps started to echo through the kitchen, getting louder and louder as they moved towards her. Her heart beat faster with each step. Suddenly, two strong arms slid around her middle, wrapping around her like blankets. She turned around to ask something, but Ed beat her to the punch. His mouth moved, a soft smile on his face, but… she couldn't hear anything. Why couldn't she hear anything?

And then he kissed her.

He.

Kissed.

Her.

And all thoughts went flying out the window.

Suddenly, she felt like she was falling.

Falling…

No wait, she really _was_ falling.

With a thud, she collapsed on the floor. Blinking her blue eyes open, she saw nothing but darkness. Darkness. The sweet smell of apple pie was gone. There was a tugging around her middle, and it took her a while to register that it was a blanket. The back of her head was hurting, she was tired, and there was an annoying blinking light somewhere near her.

She realized the light was her clock, and without even bothering to look at it, she sighed and began to untangle herself from her bed sheets.

It was all a dream. Just a dream.

"Damn."

-O-O-O-O-O-

Winry had attended to several automail patients by the time Edward woke up. At that moment, she had been working on one of her female patients, who was a few years older than her, in the family room. Why not in her work shop? There was a simple reason: too messy. Besides, she didn't need many extra parts (it was an automail thumb), and the family room was much comfier than the work shop. She had told Ed earlier that they would be in that room. Unfortunately, he forgot.

It was shortly before noon and he came trotting down the stairs, still half asleep, wearing only a pair of pajama pants. Both Winry and her (female) patient looked up and froze at the sight of a shirtless Edward Elric. And the room suddenly got fifteen degrees warmer.

Ed walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eye with his hand, and Winry heard the refrigerator door open. No one dared to move. When the blonde came back into view, he was carrying an entire carton of juice in his hand. Winry was ticked. _I mean, sure there's a heat wave passing through, but come on. Shirtless? And I bought that juice for me, not him!_

"Oi, Edward!" she called, effectively getting his attention.

He blinked sleepily and raised a hand in greeting before casually strolling outside, taking a large swig of the juice as he left. Winry blinked a few times, then growled under her breath before going back to work.

She had half a mind to go after him and bludgeon him with various tools, but of course her patient was more important. She could deal with him later.

-O-O-O-O-O-

"So how much extra do I owe you?"

"Huh?"

The older woman smiled at Winry. "For the little… _show_."

Cue the blush.

"Actually, uh, I'm really sorry about that. It was a little… unexpected, to say the least. Here, I'll give you a discount-"

"Oh, no, honey, don't be sorry. Really. And I don't need a discount. In fact," she said, reaching into her wallet and pulling out a generous amount of extra money, "here's a tip." Winry opened her mouth to protest, but the lady cut her off with a smile. "And before you say you can't accept it, I'm giving it to you as a present. Happy birthday, Winry."

Winry closed her mouth and smiled. "Thank you," she said, giving the lady a hug before she left.

She smiled, staring thoughtfully at the closed door. Yes, it was her birthday. Today marked the day she turned 21. _God, I'm getting old_, she thought with a grin as she turned to clean up her tools.

Alphonse and his girlfriend Mei had stopped by earlier to wish her a happy birthday before going back to their apartment in Central. They had managed to drag Ed downstairs to say hello, but needless to say, he went straight back upstairs and fell asleep as soon as they left. Then, around ten thirty, Granny Pinako called from her shop in Rush Valley. After that was Garfiel. Then Paninya. Several other people called or stopped by to wish her a happy birthday. Even Miss Hawkeye and Fuhrer Mustang called.

For God's sake, even _Den_, as old as she is, bounded into the room earlier and dropped her favorite chewbone at the blonde's feet! (Presumeably as a gift.) But Edward had yet to say anything.

_While I'm on this topic…_

She grabbed her wrench, bolted outside, and promptly whacked him upside the head.

"OW!"

"Have a little decency next time! And gimme back my juice!"

-O-O-O-O-O-

He still hadn't said anything. It was almost four o'clock.

Winry kneaded the dough harder, letting out all of her pent-up frustration as she drowned in thoughts of the former alchemist.

She thought he liked her. She _really_ did. What else could that hug at the train station have been?

But that happened several years ago. Since then, Pinako moved to Rush Valley to open a shop, deciding that Winry was old enough to live on her own. However, the house was a lot to keep up with. Things were starting to fall apart. For about a year and a half, she struggled to keep the house in good shape while still managing to keep up with her patients. The bills were sky-high. But it wasn't until she completely fixed up the house that she realized exactly how big it was. True, she still had Den.

But she was lonely.

It was about that time that the Elric brothers came home.

Al and Mei instantly settled down and bought an apartment in Central. And after some persuading (nagging), Winry convinced Edward to share the house with her. She told him it was pointless to spend money on a house or apartment when she was living in a large house by herself. There were plenty of rooms and she was having financial trouble. She mentioned how lonely she was and noticed his gaze become softer. But he was still refusing.

She continued to argue with him. He needed a place to stay, and she needed someone to stay with her. Finally, as a last resort, she pointed out that, if he didn't move in she'd have to rent out extra rooms to avoid losing the house. And she knew well enough that Ed would do anything to avoid having some strange boy living under the same roof as her. _Hook, line, and sinker._

She had taken his hasty agreement as a hint that he liked her. She thought they would stop fighting as much since they were older and living together. She thought that maybe their relationship would finally take that step over the line and they could become a couple. After all, she was still head-over-heels in love with him. And she thought he felt the same way.

And guess what happened?

"A whole lotta nothing," she whispered under her breath, pounding the dough and gritting her teeth.

"If you keep talking to yourself, people will think you're crazy."

Winry calmly looked over her shoulder at the smirking blonde. He was sweating, but he had thrown on a tank top. _Aw, man_.

She smirked as well and turned back to her pie. "Shut up." Yes she was frustrated with him, but that was because of her train of thought, not because of anything he'd recently done. It wasn't fair to be mad at him without a reason.

"Apple pie? What's the occasion?" She tensed, her back to him.

"…You… don't know what today is?…"

He was silent. "Not really, no… Am I supposed to?"

Okay, now she had a reason to be furious. Winry almost started shaking. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She sighed deeply. You'd think that, after dealing with this for so many years, she'd be used to it. She puts up with it on a daily basis. But day to day, it still hurts. Of course it would. Your best friend who you've been living with for a long time and been in love with for even longer -he forgets your birthday? Naturally, it hurts. Very much.

Too much.

"Just… forget it…" she whispered. She calmly continued to shape the pie. No tears this time. She had wasted enough tears on him.

"…Winry-"

"Edward, drop it." Her tone came out harsher than she wanted, but she assumed he got the message.

Everything was quiet. Winry started filling up the center of the pie, but her hands moved of their own accord, because her mind was too focused on Ed's reaction. He hadn't moved. The air around them became heavy and she could feel his gaze on her back. And for some reason, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

She didn't even have to turn around to tell that he was tearing his brain apart, trying to figure out what day it was. Suddenly, he drew in a sharp breath. _Bingo_.

"Oh, shit… Winry, I'm so sorry…" He took soft but swift steps towards her and tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, blonde hair tickling her face and arm.

Her heart leapt into her throat and she had to focus on not running away. She was nervous. Very nervous. She was sure he could hear her heart racing a mile a minute. Edward rarely hugged her, so she wasn't going to be stupid. She'd make it last as long as she could.

"I'm sorry, Win," he muttered, "God, I'm so stupid."

Winry's stomach jumped. The sincerity and apologetic tone in his voice was making her melt. No! She had to stay strong!

"Go on," she said, staying calm. She would let him grovel.

"I really screwed up this time, huh?"

"Yes, you did."

"I'm really sorry," he apologized again, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. She tried to hold back a gasp, but it wasn't enough to completely muffle it. Crap, he heard it. She was _sure_ he heard it.

…Did he hear it?

If he did, he wasn't showing that he did.

"I- there's no excuse." She nodded her head and swallowed. "I can't believe I forgot your birthday."

So he didn't hear it?

"Please forgive me." His hot breath brushed against her neck and she resisted the urge to shiver.

And then, he angled his head and brushed his lips on the side of her neck.

_Yeah. He __**definitely**__ heard it._

She didn't even bother holding back her gasp this time. "Ed…"

"Please forgive me," he whispered before softly pressing his lips against her neck again.

She closed her eyes and swallowed. "No…" she whispered, trying her hardest to stay strong. And yet at the same time, she was slightly tilting her head.

Her answer didn't even faze Edward. Instead, his kisses became more confident, yet they still held a gentleness to them. Winry's breathing was becoming erratic. By now, she wasn't even trying to hide how much his 'methods' were affecting her. This only drove him on.

"Please forgive me," he whispered again, tightening his arms around her waist. The tension between them was building up at a dangerously fast pace.

She was trying to stay strong. _My God,_ she was trying to stay strong. But it was becoming very difficult. Somehow, Ed knew all of the sensitive spots on her neck, and he was slowly driving her insane.

"…No…" she whimpered, feeling her resolve start to slip away. But at the moment, that two-lettered word was one of the hardest things for her to say.

His soft lips sent a barrage of tingles and shivers through her and his kisses left a trail of fire on her skin. His blonde hair tickled her neck and shoulder and smelled slightly of shampoo. One of his calloused thumbs softly caressed her exposed stomach, and every so often, his long eyelashes would brush her face. His breath was hot, her cheeks were burning, and she was really starting to regret nagging him about wearing a shirt-_No! No, no, no, no, no! Bad Winry!_

She jumped a bit when his lips drifted to her exposed shoulder. Her face flushed an even deeper shade of crimson (if it was even possible), and she tried to calm down before she went into cardiac arrest. Well, that's what she gets for wearing a tube top. _Stupid heat wave._

It didn't take her long to realize that, little by little, she had been giving in. And she wasn't the only one to notice.

She felt the former alchemist smile against her shoulder, and suddenly he nipped the crook of her neck. A soft moan rose in the back of her throat and in her mind she cursed him over and over again, as well as the fact that he so easily managed to break through her façade. He lifted his lips to her ear.

"You're giving in," he whispered, and she could practically _hear_ the smirk in his voice. He pressed a kiss to her jaw.

"Damn it." She _was_ giving in. Yes, she was _well aware_ that she was giving in. And the tension in the air was so thick, she thought she would implode.

Then suddenly, Edward stopped. Winry blinked open her eyes and felt a soft pressure against the upper half of her head. His arms tensed up slightly and she placed a reassuring hand on them. Her heart rate was starting to calm down and the blood was no longer rushing to her face. But she didn't notice any of that. The man behind her held her full attention. The air around them was still tense, but it was filled with a different kind of tension. It was more serious.

Winry became worried when he stayed silent. He just stood there, arms wrapped around her, face buried in her hair. But slowly, her worry vanished, and the atmosphere around them took a calm, serene feel to it. She closed her eyes and focused on his slow, deep breaths.

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

She began to wonder if he fell asleep.

Just as she was about to speak up, Ed's muffled voice reached her ears.

"I'm sorry," He moved his head so his lips were just barely brushing her temple. "Forgive me, Win?"

Such a simple question, yet it made her heart skip a beat. Of course he was referring to him forgetting her birthday, but… his tone…

His tone implied that there was another meaning. A deeper meaning, one that was hidden beyond the words. It was like he was asking for forgiveness for everything. For always making her wait, for his tendency to exclude her, for dragging her into trouble and still hiding it from her most of the time. He was apologizing for years of only visiting when he needed maintenance, and then leaving as soon as it was finished. He sought forgiveness for the hundreds of sleepless nights she spent working on his automail, and the many more that she spent worrying about them. He was apologizing for all of the times he left without a goodbye, all of the times he made her cry, all of the times he said something stupid, all of the times he hurt her.

He wasn't there for her when she needed him. He drifted away so suddenly and claimed she didn't understand. He had trouble staying at home, even when their journey ended. He wanted forgiveness.

_And yet, he still didn't know. _Winry smiled softly. He still didn't know that she was waiting all that time because she _wanted_ to, not because she had to. He didn't know that she had been with him every step of the way. He didn't know that she pushed past her worries and fears because she believed in him and she knew that, in the end, everything would be alright. He didn't know that it took _strength_ to cry, especially in front of the person you love. He didn't know that she felt like she had to stay strong for him, just like he stayed strong for his brother. He didn't know that he's the one who made her a stronger person. He didn't know that, because she loved him, she was willing to wait forever for him.

He didn't know that she had already forgiven him. A long time ago. For everything.

"Idiot," she whispered. In one fluid motion, she spun around to face him, placed a hand on either side of his face, and stood on her tip-toes, bringing her lips to his.

A jolt of electricity burst from her lips and shot down her spine and then back up again before flowing to the rest of her body. It dissolved into a warm feeling as tingling sensations danced across her skin. Her heart was racing, her stomach was full of butterflies, her mind was blank._ So this is what it feels like to be in love_, Winry thought, smiling against his lips as he pulled her closer. Though she had loved Edward for a long time, she hadn't really been _in love_. But now there was no doubt that he loved her back. She was positive. A hundred percent. She and Ed were in love.

And it just… it felt so… _right_.

She pulled back and smirked at him. "When did you get so tall, Ed?"

Silence.

"Is that a compliment?"

More silence.

"Wanna help me finish making this pie?"

"Oi, don't change the subject! What was that?"

Winry giggled and Ed frowned. "Come on, Ed, just help me with the pie."

"Fine."

…

…

"Oi, you realize you still have to get me a birthday present."

"Damn."

* * *

Cheesy? Yes.

Stupid? Kinda.

Sudden? Definitely.

_But that's just how I roll._

Kay, so I'm not particularly happy about how parts of this turned out, but I AM DONE LOOKING OVER IT. Took me _**five frickin' hours**_ to write because I couldn't figure out how to get from point A to point B. So I'd write something. And then I'd re-write it. And then I'd write it a different way. And then I'd write what I first had.

MADMADMADMADMADMADMAD 8( MADMADMADMADMADMADMAD

N-E-WAY: I considered giving this a title having to do with Winry's birthday, but then I decided I wanted people to be reading the story and then go "What? It's her b-day? Well, then WTF is she doing working?" And also, don't question Ed's OOCness. 'Sides, it's fun to write him making Winry freak out.

**QUESTION! 8D: **should I add another genre? (i.e. Romance/Humor, Romance/Drama, Romance/Action/Adventure - haha right, 'cause this is sooo action-y.)

**NOTE ALERT!: **Check out my profile if you wanna learn about a story I'm writing! (*smilesmilesmilesmile*)

R&R please.

Okay, I'm done.

~Vee


End file.
